River cruising ain't for me...

[Seabee]

sorry, it just didn't work for me. I just returned yesterday from Amsterdam to Nuremburg on Gate 1's Amadeus Royal (owned by Lufner).

 

Food was very good. Ship was in great shape. ships crew was just OK...English is a challenge for many of them (yeah I know, I should learn their language). Tended to be a bit rude.

 

Gate 1 cruise directors did a great job.

 

Cabins were nice and well appointed. bathrooms bigger than any cruise ship I have been on.

 

Port stops were for the most part very good. More detail to follow.

 

I enjoyed meeting many of the other passengers and our group of 10 had a ball!

 

So, what is the problem?

 

I am 58 years old and very active. I normally plan more active excursions when cruising and would never go on a bus trip... "if this is Tuesday it must be Belgium". But that was a large part of this cruise.

 

There is no place to go on the boat other than the lounge and your room. Perhaps in nicer weather you could hang out on deck but it was closed due to low bridges for over half the cruise. If you need space, river cruising may not be for you.

 

We were on the boat A LONG TIME! The scenery along the river was nice but until we got into the castle section it was very repetitive. Four hour port calls just weren't ;long enough.

 

Nijmeggen--nice stop. Boat docks in town with easy access to town. Nice market going on. Main attraction is the church which was not open for visits. Next best attraction is the alleged home of Karl Marx's mother which also is not open to the public. Best thing here is wandering around the market and people watching.

 

Cologne...a BIG city just like all big cities. Main attraction iis the Cathedral which is much prettier from the outside than inside. this is one port where we had too much time scheduled. By the way, the Chocolat Museum wasn't so sweet.

 

Koblenz...Take the Marksburg Castle tour. it is outstanding! Yeah we had a standard bus tour up there but once there it was fantastic. Visit to Brewery with beer, pretzels and sausage was nice too. This is a great little place. Could have stayed longer.

 

Wertheim...A really great place! Mideveal town with lots of shopping and neat cafes all around. Be sure to go to the glass blowing demonstration on board the day before if it is available.

 

Rothenburg and Wurzburg...in a word take this tour. It is an all day bus tour which which is tolerable only becasue the two towns are so wonderful...especially Rothenburg. A great town which deserves much more time. Wurzburg is also nice for the Bishops residence and winery. If you don't sign up for this Optional Excursion you will be bored to death on the boat....there is nothing else going on other than the tour and the boat docks far away from anything!

 

Bamberg...seems like they saved the best for last. Bamberg was fascinating! Took another bus to get there but well worth the stop and need much more time. we left Bamberg at 1:00 in the afternoon and were schedueld to arrive at Nuremburg at 11:30. Actually got there at 9:00! Stay in Bamberg longer and get to Nuremburg at 3:00 in the morning. No one will care!

 

We had a great time. And Gate 1 did a good job. Would I go on another river cruise...probably not. This area of Europe demands more independence and next time I will either rent a car or use the train to shuttle me between a few hotel bases and the places I want to see.

[newnanna]

Seabee,

Sorry you did not enjoy the rivercruise. I am 47 and have been on the tulips and windmills,with my husband and enjoyed it immensely. In Nov, I go on the Budapest to Amsterdam with a girlfriend- I hope I will not be disappointed. This is my girlfriend's 1st rivercruise.

Thanks for all the information regarding the ports and congratulations on becoming a Grandpa.

[paul929207]

Seabee,

 

Sorry you did not like the river cruise. We have been on one and loved it. I guess it just shows how different we all are.

[FlyerTalker]

Seems to me that there was a significant disconnect between your expectations and your reality:

I am 58 years old and very active. I normally plan more active excursions when cruising and would never go on a bus trip... "if this is Tuesday it must be Belgium". But that was a large part of this cruise.

I guess there wasn't enough disclosure on what would be involved in touring those ports you liked. Or enough research.

There is no place to go on the boat other than the lounge and your room. Perhaps in nicer weather you could hang out on deck but it was closed due to low bridges for over half the cruise. If you need space, river cruising may not be for you.

If you booked a river cruise without looking at a deck plan for the ship, I can't have any sympathy. Basic research. If you looked and didn't realize the minimal number of public rooms, well, what can I say other than....

We were on the boat A LONG TIME! The scenery along the river was nice but until we got into the castle section it was very repetitive. Four hour port calls just weren't ;long enough.

Again, it seems the pre-booking info and/or research didn't sink in.

 

For example, when a cruiseline says that it takes 2 days overland from Istanbul to the Danube - I'm gonna believe that I'm gonna be on a bus for hours. And I'll be prepared for that. When they say there's a bus ride from the Danube to Bucharest, I take the time to research what that distance is - and figure that I won't be making Interstate freeway speeds.

 

It seems as though you went along on this cruise as part of a group rather than as your own decision maker. Sorry you didn't enjoy your experience.

[Hydrokitty]

Seabee,

Sorry you did not enjoy the rivercruise. I am 47 and have been on the tulips and windmills,with my husband and enjoyed it immensely. In Nov, I go on the Budapest to Amsterdam with a girlfriend- I hope I will not be disappointed. This is my girlfriend's 1st rivercruise.

Thanks for all the information regarding the ports and congratulations on becoming a Grandpa.

 

My husband and I are also pretty active but we loved river cruising. Trip from Budapest to Amsterdam was wonderful, Nov. will be cold but plan to do your Christmas shopping.....I think for two girlfriends you're going to have a blast!!!!

 

Congrats Grandpa......makes all that childhood stuff worth it, doesn't it....

[halbfl2]

sorry, it just didn't work for me. I just returned yesterday from Amsterdam to Nuremburg on Gate 1's Amadeus Royal (owned by Lufner).

 

Food was very good. Ship was in great shape. ships crew was just OK...English is a challenge for many of them (yeah I know, I should learn their language). Tended to be a bit rude.

 

Gate 1 cruise directors did a great job.

 

Cabins were nice and well appointed. bathrooms bigger than any cruise ship I have been on.

 

Port stops were for the most part very good. More detail to follow.

 

You expressed our sentiments exactly. We returned about 3 weeks ago from the Danube cruise between Budapest and Bucharest. Fortunately we had good weather, and could use the sun deck. Also, only 2 locks so it was never closed. Food good, but few choices. Rooms nice. I guess, like you, the main thing was the pace. We are not ones for the ship excursions when we do an ocean cruise, and running every morning to get a good seat on the bus (needed to be in front due to motion sickness problems) was really tiresome. Enjoyed our private tour in a van w/driver to Transylvania at the end of the trip. But the big coach tours just aren't our thing. This doesn't even address the average age of the passengers which had to be at least 80. Out of 166 pass. I think there was one woman under the age of 60. We won't be doing another one anytime soon, but maybe when we're 80.